Parker Centre

Student-Industry Research Program for Undergraduate University Students

Overview
Since 2007, the Parker Centre's Student-Industry Research (S-IR) Program for providing a hydrometallurgy research experience for undergraduate university students has been run twice a year.

With the addition of a Winter Student-Industry Research (S-IR) Program as well as a Summer S-IR Program in 2007, the international reach of the Centre's S-IR Program now extends across both hemispheres and into four continents. With support from BHP Billiton, one of the Centre's Industry Participants, the running of a Winter S-IR Program in both 2007 and 2008 has enabled Northern Hemisphere students to participate during their university summer break.

The inaugural Winter S-IR Program (June-August 2007) saw the Parker Centre host four students from the Moscow State University in Russia at the Waterford laboratories of Research Participant CSIRO Minerals. Another three Moscow State University students worked with Parker Centre researchers at Curtin University of Technology in the 2008 Winter S-IR Program (June-August 2008).

The name of the Student-Industry Research Program had previously been the Summer Jobs Program, but the program's name was changed in 2006. The change was made to reflect the fact that the program is now sponsored by industry, has a direct relationship with industry and that the student research projects are all designed to investigate aspects of hydrometallurgical processing that are relevant to industry. The original program, the Summer Jobs Program, which was first run during the summer of 2003-2004, was internally funded by the Parker Centre.

The purpose of the restyled program remains the same however: to give Australian and international students experience in research which they don’t get as undergraduates, with the aim of encouraging the students to do further research in hydrometallurgy as part of their studies and/or enter the minerals industry when they have finished their degree.

The S-IR Program provides students with an opportunity to develop networks with researchers and potential employers in industry and provides industry with an introduction to top student researchers who could be future employees.

The successful applicants are employed for around ten weeks as research assistants and work on meaningful research projects with Centre researchers, predominantly at either CSIRO Minerals (Waterford laboratories), Curtin University of Technology or Murdoch University. Their projects, as with the Centre's research projects, involve research related to either alumina, base metals or gold processing. All students present their results at a Student Symposium held at the end of the program each year and provide a technical report to the Parker Centre and the sponsoring company/companies.

Most of the participants in the summer programs have been students studying at Australian universities. However, from the 2004-2005 summer, the summer program each year has also included two chemical engineering students from the University of Cape Town in South Africa. And from the 2006-2007 summer, the Summer S-IR Program has included a student from the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais in Brazil.

The program's aim of encouraging the future involvement of the students in hydrometallurgy is being achieved:

Two of the students (Mr Andrew Jones and Ms Venny Tjandrawan) employed in the 2003-2004 program went on to do Honours in the Parker Centre in 2004 and then worked as research assistants within the Centre (in Extractive Metallurgy at Murdoch University). Venny started a PhD within the Parker Centre in April 2007. Two of the other 2003-2004 students undertook their final year Chemical Engineering research project with their summer supervisor and another continued her vacation work as the research project requirement of an Applied Chemistry degree.
After participating in the 2003-2004 program, Mr Yoko Pranolo and Ms Danielle Thompson were also employed in the 2004-2005 program, and are currently both working in the Parker Centre as Project Scientists at CSIRO Minerals.
Following the 2004-2005 program, two of the employed students (Mr Salvatore Blanco and Mr James Didovich) were Parker Centre Honours students in 2005 and then gained employment in the minerals industry (Salvatore with Pilbara Iron and James with Rio Tinto Technical Services). Another student, Mr Paul Phatara-Atikom, subsequently undertook an MSc in the Centre.
Two of the students in the 2005-2006 program are currently Parker Centre students. Mr Laurence Dyer started a PhD in 2006 while Ms Carla Zammit commenced a PhD in early 2007 after undertaking an Honours project in the Centre that extended her research over the 2005-2006 summer. Another student, Mr Jonathon Childs, went on to become a part-time research assistant/Honours student within the Centre, graduating in 2008.
Mr Richard O'Rouke, who participated in the 2006-2007 program, undertook Honours with the Centre in 2007.
Two of the 2007-2008 Summer S-IR participants (Mr Jeremy Hartley and Mr Daniel Hoath) subsequently became Parker Centre Honours students in 2008.

Article about the 2006-2007 Student-Industry Research Program

Article about the 2005-2006 Summer Jobs Program

Article about the 2004-2005 Summer Jobs Program

Article about the 2003-2004 Summer Jobs Program

The nine Russian undergraduate university students sponsored by BHP Billiton to undertake research
between June and August 2007 in Perth during their Northern Hemisphere summer university vacation,
with Mr Mark Woffenden (the Parker Centre's CEO at the time) and Dr Jane Rosser (the Centre's
Education Program Manager at the time) on the far right. Four of the Russian students participated in
the Centre's first Winter Student-Industry Research Program, working with researchers at
CSIRO Minerals, one of the Centre's Research Participants.